Despising the Day of Small Things (Zechariah 4:1-11)

Despise = to hold as insignificant, to disrespect, to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful.

We live in a day where small things are considered inferior, or little value, or insignificant.

small trucks can’t pull a lot

small homes doesn’t seem very fancy or useful

small phones are of lesser quality

Yet, there are benefits to each of these smaller things that we have mentioned.

small trucks get better gas mileage

small home cost less, have less clutter, which leads to less time cleaning

small phones are a lot easier to put in your pocket.

God uses small things to help benefit the needs of those around. God isn’t ashamed to use small things, so why should we?

Most beginnings of things are small!!!! They have to grow!

Plants, trees, people

Minds, businesses, careers

Churches, knowledge, working in Christ

God Uses Small People

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (Talking of David)

David was a shepherd, a solider, and king of Israel.

Mary carrying Jesus (didn’t brag at all)

John = “the disciple whom Jesus loved”

revelation of Jesus Christ

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE USED BY GOD, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO GET SMALL!

John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

11433 He who will live for others shall have great troubles, but they shall seem to him small. He who will live for himself shall have small troubles, but they shall seem to him great.

William Ralph Inge

1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way!

You don’t have to worry about doing great things. (Without Christ, we can do nothing) It’s best to just do the small faithful things and let God do the rest!

Small numbers make no difference to God. There is nothing small if God is in it. (DL Moody)

1 Kings 18:22 “Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.” (plus the prophets of the groves 400)(1 man of God vs. 850 false prophets)

God Uses Small Places

Micah 5:2 “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

While there is nothing wrong with large places with large populations, God chose to let Christ be born in Bethlehem

- Jerusalem around 25,000 at Christ’s birth (Cookeville’s Population in 2000)

- Bethlehem less than 1000 people in population at birth of Christ (Monterey’s Population is 2700 in 2022)

- Christ was born in a place that was almost like hanging limb

If God can chose a small town to be used to bring in the Son of God, why can’t he use a small community, a small church, a small amount of believers to bring the Son of God to the world?

God Uses Small Provisions

John 6:5–14 “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baske…”

We may think that we need a lot, but God doesn’t need much to provide much. HE CAN MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING!

God shows himself providential by using little things!

Widows barrel almost empty of meal.

We think God isn’t doing something because we have so little, when we should be using all of our little for the glory of God!

John 21:5–11 “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”

Peter went back to doing what he was doing before he started living for Christ and took 6 other preachers with him. be careful how you live!

They couldn’t do anything in their own ability. God can get a lot more done through you than you can get done by yourself.

God Uses Small Prayers

Luke 18:9–14 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess (34 words)(almost 5 times as long as the sinners prayer). And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner (7 word prayer (perfect)). I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

(Master, carest thou not that we perish? 7 words)

True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length. (Spurgeon)

It’s better to just speak from your heart than to try and form some eloquent speech. It’s also better to just say a small prayer than to not say a prayer at all! (Ye have not because ye ask not) Little is better than none and little is much when God is in it!

We may not pray small prayers because of our own dignity than God’s (C.S. Lewis)

God Uses Small Power

Sometimes we think that God deserves more praise when He does a big thing. But to God, he never really does big things, he just does small things. TO US THOUGH, HE ALWAYS DOES BIG THINGS!

Genesis 1:1–3 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

Psalm 33:6 “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”

Psalm 8:3 “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers (Aiden and stickers), The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;”

Psalms 107

Psalm 111:1–4 “Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, Sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honourable and glorious: And his righteousness endureth for ever. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.”

Revelation 19:11–16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Revelation 20:7–11 “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”

DON’T DESPISE SMALL THINGS, GOD LIKES TO USE SMALL THINGS.